Twelve possible strategies for enhancing interprofessional socialisation in higher education: Findings from an interpretive phenomenological study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the interprofessional socialisation experiences of health professional educators (HPEs) across five health science faculties in Perth, Australia. Evidence supported the importance of educators teaching and learning together, although there was minimal evidence with regard to the type of support HPEs received or required in order to socialise interprofessionally within higher education. Interview participants comprised 26 HPEs from various health-related professions across Western Australia. An interpretive phenomenological framework was used to discover the phenomena of interprofessional socialisation. The examination of the data was undertaken via qualitative content analysis with the aid of NVivo 10 software. Content coding led to the development of categories, sub-categories, and then themes. Five themes were identified; however, only one of these themes, “interprofessional socialisation strategies within higher education,” is explored within this article. Based on the data within this theme, 12 possible socialisation strategies (formal and informal) were identified for HPEs, which could be implemented within health science faculties, taking into account the organisation’s culture and strategic intent towards interprofessional collaboration and education.